“No, silly,” Bennie giggles. “Can you hand me a couple of pieces of hair? I need it for my potion. And I want to smell it. Jaxon smells so good. Can you believe he smells so good? The potion I’m going to make is going to make him mine forever. It’s all about pheromones. Don’t you think that developing a pheromone cocktail using Jaxon’s own pheromones to find their compatible ones makes the most sense, Kelsey?”
I can feel the grimace that takes over my face at her comment. It’s clear Bennie is smart, even if she’s not firmly grounded in reality.
“I’d have to research it more before I could say for sure,” Kelsey hedges. “But, hey, Bennie, you said your friend didn’t help you get in here. Can you tell me more about that?”
“I said he didn’t give me a map.”
“Ah,” Kelsey says, and I can see her trying to figure out what question to ask next.
Bennie giggles. “I changed the plan.”
“Oh?”
“Can you keep a secret, Kelsey?” Bennie asks, her face totally serious now.
“Of course. I’m very good at keeping secrets.”
“Dee didn’t trust Trent.”
Chapter thirty-eight
Carter
“I’mgoingtokillhim,” I snarl as I pace away from Kelsey, back in the control room.
The police showed up seconds after Bennie dropped her Trent-shaped bomb, and because there was an active restraining order in place, they took her back to the station quickly and quietly. Eddie followed the police to the station to give the initial statement, Lila on speakerphone with him to provide any updates necessary from the KH Security team as they continue to review tapes and put everything together.
Jaxon, Kelsey, and I promised we’d give our statements tomorrow morning, since Jaxon is due on stage in less than thirty minutes.
Jaxon is backstage now with his team, all of them extra vigilant after letting Bennie slip through the literal cracks in the building.
“Take a breath, Carter,” Kelsey says, grabbing my forearm to stop my pacing.
My face is pure wrath as I look at her, but she takes it, a lone rock in the storm that is my life.
“Take. A. Breath.”
The air I force through my nostrils and down into my lungs stings, the stale taste of the small space flooding my senses.
“We don’t know it’s Trent,” Kelsey says in a low tone.
“How the fuck not?” I whisper-hiss back.
“First and foremost, because Bennie only said the name Trent one time. And she continues to talk about this plan being between her and her imaginary pal, Dee.”
“It can’t be a coincidence that she used Trent’s name!” I say, my frustration getting the best of me.
“True, but she used my name too. That doesn’t mean it was me. She might’ve researched us after the publicity last week.”
“So what do we do?” I ask.
“We ask him about it,” she responds calmly, like it’s the most obvious answer in the world. “Text him. Tell him we need his help with a situation in the security room. He loves to feel important, so I’m sure he’ll be here in no time.”
I tap a few buttons on my phone, sending the message to my asshole of a half brother.
Me
We have a situation. Need you in the security room.
